Jason Latimer was born in 1981 in Roseburg, Oregon. Within a few years, his family moved south to Agoura Hills in Southern California, unintentionally putting the unsuspecting four year old just thirty minutes from the most famous magic club in the world, The Magic Castle. At age 9 Jason went to his first live magic show... and was hooked for life. He quickly gathered all the books, videos, shows, and any other pieces of information he could find on the subject of magic. By the age of 12, he was performing for local events and birthday parties to hone his skills, and as the number of events grew, so did Jason's reputation as a local magic talent. It was not long before he caught the attention of the Magic Castle's Academy of Magical Arts Junior Program. The Junior Program accepts your magicians (by audition) to work with and to guide, helping each student hone their skills and improve their performance levels. If the students continue their interest through the meetings and lectures, they graduate at the age of twenty to become official magicians of the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. Lecturers of the Junior Program include such notable magicians as David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Penn & Teller, and many, many more. At the Castle, Jason received an education in the art of magic from the "best of the best," and quickly learned to embrace the program for all its worth. He learned the psychology of why an effect works, the mechanics of how the effect operates, and had coaches, mentors, workshops, and much more at his disposal. Recognized as a young talent, one of the Magic Castle's Board members and professional magician by the name of Billy McComb once commented in Genii Magazine, "He has a capacity of getting an idea and not giving up just because at first glance it appears impossible. He will worry about it 'til he finally gets it... He is a very, very clever lad, and I've no doubt he'll go far." Inspired by Billy McComb's comments, Jason only worked harder to create more and more new illusions.

At the age of 18, he became one of the youngest performers ever to be given their own headlining week at the Magic Castle, which is an exclusive dinner and show club for adults 21 and older. In 2001, Jason received the highest award possible for the students of the Junior Program, the "Award of Ouststanding Achievement," in recognition of his work and creativity. Maintaining his college education, Jason continued at the University of California Santa Barbara, performing and traveling over the weekends. Jason's awards and performances at the Magic Castle landed him a slot in Las Vegas, Nevada. Though he was still not old enough to gamble, Jason performed as one of the opening acts for the Amazing Johnathan show at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino. In January of 2003, Jason participated in the World Magic Seminar Stage Contest, hosted by Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas. After performing in front of one of the largest gatherings of magicians in the United States, Jason was presented with the prize for the "Most Up and Coming New Talent." His newfound support from Siegfried and Roy encouraged him to continue his participation in the contest circuit. Illusion after illusion, competition after competition, Jason climbed the ranks around the world on an incredible and magical winning streak. Gathering attention in the magic community, he eventually received The Invitation to represent the United States in the Netherlands at the World Championships of Magic. The World Championships of Magic, also known s the Federation of International Societies of Magic (F.I.S.M.), is the largest and most respected contest for magic in the world, and occurs just once every three years. With the support of his family, friends, mentors, coaches, and the Academy of Magical Arts... Latimer accepted the Invitation, and became one of only three Americans in history to win the title, "Grand Prix 'Best Overall' World Champion of Magic."

Education

Latimer is a triple threat in the academic community, with multiple degrees and fields of study in Economics, Mathematics, and Applied Physics. Although Latimer is an illusionist, he attributes much of his success to his education from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). His research, lectures, and publications in the fields of Psychology, Mathematics, and Physics on both magic and illusion design, have brought this unique and charismatic young man to the top of his game. By combining entertainment and education worldwide, Latimer provides lectures for universities and other motivational speaking events as another option to the use of science. His passion for the art of illusion and indisputable reputation to prove anything is possible makes for one of the most unique experiences in any lecture. Join Latimer as he present an educational audience the chance to witness the impossible during the lecture -even while it is being explained. Although raised in the magic community for the last 20 years, Latimer adeptly crosses back and forth from the world of magic to academia. Recognition around the world for Latimer's efforts recently brought him to Calcutta, India as one of the guest speakers and the main performance at Kshitij 2008, the world's largest Technology Festival, at the Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T). Latimer was contacted specifically for his creative design and problem solving development, especially as related to his laser illusion, where he bends light with his hands. Latimer is an extremely unique breed of youth, intelligence, creativity, high energy, and performing talent. His lectures have taken him around the world as the bridge between the scientific and illusionary fields. The real life Harry Potter has truly become the connection between technology and magic for the modern age. Get Latimer's Newsletter.

"This is my passion. I blend technology, illusion, and visual art. With the help of engineers, machinists, physicists, artists, psychologists, and other professionals from all over the world, we have created a team of highly motivated individuals... that truly understand that the idea of being impossible is... merely an opinion."